Adjustable mounting bracket between a valve and an actuator

ABSTRACT

An adjustable mounting bracket between a valve and an actuator has a bracket and a stem adapter operationally combined together. By selecting the bracket and the stem adapter having proper positioning holes, the mounting bracket is versatile in different combination. By adjusting combination depth of the bracket and the stem adapter, the height of the mounting bracket is adjustable to correspond with various stems on the valves. Therefore, the mounting bracket is flexible in types and applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mounting bracket, and more particularly to an adjustable mounting bracket connected between a valve and an actuator, wherein the mounting bracket is composed of a top bracket and a bottom bracket and is assembled by welding in form of various heights and mounting patterns to increase manufacturing efficiency and to reduce cost.

2. Description of Related Art

With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional mounting bracket 10 is substantially rectangular tube with a top face and a bottom face and has multiple engaging holes 102 and a stem hole 103. The stem hole 103 is defined though the mounting bracket to receive a stem of a valve. The multiple engaging holes are defined on the top face and the bottom face to respectively engage the valve and an actuator.

As shown in FIG. 2, a combination of the mounting bracket 10 to the valve 1 and the actuator (an air-pressure cylinder 161) is further described. The valve 1 basically comprises a main body 11, a ball 13 rotatably accommodated inside the main body 11, and the stem 14 mounted on the ball 13 and extending out of the main body 11. Multiple stem packings 17 are located between the stem 14 and the main body 11 and a nut 18 is mounted on the stem 14 to adjust the tightening of the multiple stem packings 17 for sealing. The air-pressure cylinder 161 for being an automatic actuator needs a mounting bracket 12 and a adapter 15 to combine with the main body 11 so that a user can interface the air-pressure cylinder 161 and the valve 1 for operation and monitor leakage of the stem 14 and then to tighten the nut 18 to adjust the stem packings 17.

Additionally, the air-pressure cylinder 161 has a male spigot 162 that engages a positioning hole 121 on the mounting bracket 12 and valve 1 engages to the mounting bracket 12 in the same means.

However, the conventional valve 1 has the following drawbacks in use:

1. Engagement of the male spigot 162 on the air-pressure cylinder 161 and the positioning hole 121 on the mounting bracket 12 is difficult. If the male spigot 162 on the air-pressure cylinder 161 is made in accordance with rules of international standard organization (ISO) and the positioning hole 121 on the mounting bracket 12 is made correspondingly, the engagement is easy. However, the ISO rules are not strictly practiced in manufacturing, the mounting bracket 12 and the air-pressure cylinder 161 made by different manufacturers are not matching to each other so that the engagement therebetween is difficult. Especially, when the air-pressure cylinder 161 is changed by another type one, the male spigot 162 can not securely combine with the original mounting bracket 12.

2. The stem 14 of the conventional valve 1 protruding from the main body 11 has a surplus height. When the valves 1 are manufactured by different manufacturers, the surplus heights are various. To correspond with different surplus heights, many types of the mounting brackets 12 are manufactured and prepared so that manufacturers of the mounting brackets 12 have troublesome problems in administration, storage, manufacturing procedures and increased manufacturing cost.

3. The conventional mounting bracket 12 can not satisfy with some valves not corresponding with ISO rules, particularly in scales and hole sizes and hole locations. Therefore, combination of the mounting bracket 12 is not convenient when the valves 1 are not standardized.

4. Because sizes of the valves 1 and locations of multiple locking holes 101 on the valves 1 are different and the air-pressure cylinders 161 are various in size, thousands of types of the mounting brackets 12 are prepared if the valves 1 and the air-pressure cylinders 161 are not regularized. The manufacturer has to decide either to pre-manufacture various mounting brackets 12 that increases overstock pressure, or to produce the mounting brackets 12 by orders that keeps consumers waiting long. Therefore, the manufacturer is in dilemma and hard to handle the management of the mounting brackets 12.

With reference to FIG. 3, another conventional bent mounting bracket 20 is disclosed. This conventional bent mounting bracket 20 has an opening 21 at a side to make the bent mounting bracket 20 conveniently attach to the valve 1. The opening 21 allows the stems 14 of various valves 1 to pass so that application of the bent mounting bracket 20 is broadened.

However, the opening 21 of the conventional bent mounting bracket 20 easily deforms during attachment and alignment becomes a problem, combination precision of the bent mounting bracket 20 is changed and then leakage may occur.

With reference to FIG. 4, still another conventional mounting bracket 20 a has a similar structure with the one shown in FIG. 3 except multiple extension holes 22 a defined on a top face to make the mounting bracket 20 a correspond with different air-pressure cylinders 161 and valves 1.

In this conventional mounting bracket 20 a, although the extension holes 22 a enable the mounting bracket 20 a to match with different air-pressure cylinder 161, locking locations of bolts between the mounting bracket 20 a and the air-pressure cylinder 161 are not precise and thus positioning center of the stem 14 is biased. Accordingly, when the air-pressure cylinder 161 operates, the stem 14 vibrates and elements rock and rub against each other so that lifespans of the elements are significantly shortened.

Moreover, this conventional mounting bracket 20 has the hole locations that do not meet the ISO rules so that application is still limited in certain scales.

The conventional mounting bracket has the following drawbacks:

1. The conventional mounting bracket controls the alignment and overall distance between the valve and the actuator but is not flexible in use because the mounting bracket is one-pieced.

2. Improperly manufactured mounting bracket can cause premature valve stem packing failure or potential side loading of the stem, increasing torque requirements and reducing valve cycle life.

3. All the market available mounting bracket in one-piece, the height, mounting patterns and sizes are all fixed and can not be changed in place.

4. When the actuator or the valve is changed to a bigger or smaller size, the conventional mounting bracket should be changed to suit the new actuator or the new valve.

Therefore, the present invention provides an adjustable mounting bracket between a valve and an actuator to overcome the above drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable mounting bracket that is suitable for various valves and actuators in different sizes.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the mounting bracket comprises:

a top bracket having

-   -   a top plate with two opposite sides;     -   two side plates respective attached to the two opposite sides of         the top plate to compose a U-shaped structure;     -   a positioning hole defined in the top plate and adapted to         engage a male spigot on the actuator; and     -   multiple locking holes defined around the positioning hole; and

a bottom bracket having

-   -   a base plate with two opposite sides;     -   two side plates respective attached to the two opposite sides of         the base plate to compose a U-shaped structure;     -   a positioning hole defined in the base plate and adapted to         engage a male spigot on the valve; and     -   multiple locking holes defined around the positioning hole;

wherein, a width between the two side plates of the bottom bracket is slightly smaller than a width between the two side plates of the top bracket so that the top bracket clamps the bottom bracket at the side plates.

Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional mounting bracket in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing combination of a valve, the conventional mounting bracket of FIG. 1 and an air-pressure cylinder;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another conventional mounting bracket in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of still another conventional mounting bracket in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a combination of the valve, the air-pressure cylinder and the mounting bracket of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of another combination of the valve, the air-pressure cylinder and the mounting bracket of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an operational combination of the 5 valve, the air-pressure cylinder and the mounting bracket of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another operational combination of the valve, the air-pressure cylinder and the mounting bracket of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An adjustable mounting bracket in accordance with the present invention comprises a top bracket and a bottom bracket operationally combined together. By selecting the top bracket and the bottom bracket having proper positioning holes and locking holes, the mounting bracket is versatile in different combination. By adjusting combination depth of the top bracket and the bottom bracket, the height of the mounting bracket is adjustable to correspond with various stems on the valves. Therefore, the mounting bracket is flexible in types and applications.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 7, a preferred embodiment of the mounting bracket 30 connected between a valve 6 and an actuator (i.e. an air-pressure cylinder 7) comprises a top bracket 40 and a bottom bracket 50 (as shown in FIG. 6). The top bracket 40 is U-shaped and has a positioning hole 41 adapted to combine with a male spigot 73 on the air-pressure cylinder 7. The positioning hole 41 preferably corresponds to and engages the male spigot 73 on the air-pressure cylinder 7 (as shown in FIG. 7) that meets ISO rules. The top bracket 40 further has multiple locking holes 42 defined around the positioning hole 41. Each locking hole 42 adapts to align with one corresponding threaded hole 71 on the air-pressure cylinder 7. Thereby, a bolt 80 penetrates the locking hole 42 of the top bracket 40 and screws to engage the threaded hole 71 on the air-pressure cylinder 7. Moreover, the multiple locking holes 42 on the top bracket 40 are selectively defined at different scales in accordance with the threaded holes 71 on other types of air-pressure cylinder 7.

Moreover, the bottom bracket 50 is U-shaped and combines with the top bracket 40 to achieve the mounting bracket. The bottom bracket 50 has a positioning hole 51 aligning with the positioning hole 41 on the top bracket 40 and adapted to snugly combine with a male spigot 62 on a valve 6 to make the male spigot 62 wedge into the positioning hole 51. The bottom bracket 50 is modified by selectively having various positioning holes 51 in different sizes. Moreover, the top bracket 40 can be modified by selectively having various locking holes 42 to meet various actuators in different scales. Therefore, the top bracket 40 is versatile by simply changing the locking holes 42.

Additionally, the bottom bracket 50 is selectively modified by having various positioning holes 51 with different sizes that correspond with various male spigots 62 on different valves 6. The bottom bracket 50 is also selectively modified by having various locking holes 52 that respectively correspond with various threaded holes 69 on the different valves. The positioning and locking holes 51, 52 on the bottom bracket 50 are selectively defined by regular scales of ISO rules or by requests from special orders (not according to regular scales of ISO rules).

The top bracket 40 has a top plate 45 and two side plates 43, 44 attached to two opposite ends of the top plate 45 to compose a U-shaped structure. The bottom bracket 50 has a base plate 55 and two side plates 53, 54 respectively correspond to two edges 431, 441 on the side plates 43, 44 of the top bracket 40. A width between the two side plates 53, 54 of the bottom bracket 50 is slightly smaller than one between the two side plates 43, 44 of the top bracket 40 so that the top bracket 40 enables to clamp the bottom ii bracket 50 at the side plates 43, 44 when the mounting bracket 30 is assembled. The mounting bracket 30 in this embodiment still has two open sides (as shown in FIG. 5) so that the valve 6 and the stem 64 can be monitored to prevent leakage and tools enable to reach the valve 6 via the open sides to adjust sealing efficiency of stem packings 67 without disassembling the mounting bracket 30. The side plates 43, 44, on the top bracket 40 adjustably sleeve the side plates 53, 54 on the bottom bracket 50 (as shown in FIG. 5) at different depths to control the height of the mounting bracket 30. By simply selecting the top bracket 40 ad the bottom bracket 50, the mounting bracket 30 has multiple variations. When the mounting bracket 30 is mounted between the valve 6 and the air-pressure cylinder 7, the positioning holes 41, 51 are precisely calibrated to accord to the male spigots 41, 51 on the valve 6 and the air-pressure cylinder 7 and then the top bracket 40 and the bottom bracket 50 are welded together to perform the mounting bracket 30 with a proper height. Since the height of the mounting bracket 30 is adjustable, the mounting bracket 30 adapts to various valves 6 so that manufacturers need not to stock the mounting bracket 30 in various scales to reduce stock cost and management of the stock is simplified.

With reference to FIG. 7, the preferred embodiment of the mounting bracket 30 in the present invention is shown in cross-section. The valve 6 comprises a valve base 61, a ball 63 rotatably accommodated inside the valve base 61, and a stem 64 extended out of the valve base 61. Multiple stem packings 67 are hermetically located between the stem 64 and the valve base 61 and a nut 68 is mounted on the stem 64 to adjust the tightening of the multiple stem packings 67 for sealing. The air-pressure cylinder 7 for being an automatic actuator combines the top bracket 40 of the mounting bracket 30 by aligning multiple threaded holes 71 on the air-pressure cylinder 7 and the locking holes 42 on the top bracket 40 and by securing a bolt 80 with the holes 71, 42. The air-pressure cylinder 7 has a adapter 72 penetrating the top bracket 40 via the positioning hole 41. Then, the positioning hole 41 on the top bracket 40 conveniently and snugly engages with the male spigot 73 on the air-pressure cylinder 7.

The valve 6 has multiple threaded holes 69 that adapt to respectively align to the multiple locking holes 52 on the bottom bracket 50 of the mounting bracket 30. Therefore, multiple bolts 81 are respectively secured on the threaded holes 69 via the locking holes 52 on the bottom bracket 50 of the mounting bracket 30. The positioning hole 51 on the bottom bracket 50 of the mounting bracket 30 is penetrated by the stem 64 on the valve 6 and conventionally and snugly engaged the male spigot 62 on the valve 6. A protrusion 641 formed on a top of the stem 64 combines with a corresponding recess 721 at a bottom of the adapter 72 to transmit power from the air-pressure cylinder 7 to the ball 63 via the adapter 72 and the stem 64 to open or close the valve 6.

The male spigot 73 on the air-pressure cylinder 7 engages the positioning hole 41 on the top bracket 40 and the male spigot 62 on the valve 6 also engages the positioning hole 51 on the bottom bracket 50.

With reference to FIG. 8, another embodiment of the mounting bracket 30′ in accordance with the present invention is shown in cross-section. The mounting bracket 30′ is attached between the valve 6 and the air-pressure cylinder 7. Because the central haft 64 has a surplus height varied by changing various valves 6 with different scales, the height of the mounting bracket 30′ is adjustable to meet various valves 6. The top bracket 40 and the bottom bracket 50 have several regular sizes and the multiple holes defined according to ISO rules. The top bracket 40 and the bottom bracket 50 are respectively determined by the size of the male spigots 61, 71 on the valve 6 and the air-pressure cylinder 7 and then calibrated to correspond with the surplus height of the stem 64 after welding combination. Thereby, manufacturers do not need to stock various mounting brackets having different heights, holes, and sizes and enable to reduce stock cost since the mounting bracket 30′ is flexible in combination.

As shown in FIG. 7, the stem 64 has a long surplus height and the mounting bracket 30 is composed of the top bracket 40 and the bottom bracket 50 shallowly welded with each other to make the height of the mounting bracket enlarged and corresponding to the surplus height of the stem 64. However as shown in FIG. 8, the stem 64 has a short surplus height and the mounting bracket 30′ is composed of the top bracket 40 and the bottom bracket 50 deeply welded with each other to make the height of the mounting bracket shortened and corresponding to the surplus height of the stem 64.

With reference to FIG. 9, the actuator can be a spring return handle 90 that has a bottom conveniently attached to the top bracket 40 on the mounting bracket 30. The spring return handle 90 further has a handle 93 connected to the adapter 72. The handle 93 rotates to drive the adapter 72 to open or close the valve 6.

With reference to FIG. 10, the actuator is a gear box 95 that has a spindle 96 extending outward and a turning wheel 97 attached to a distal end of the spindle 96. The gear box 95 mounted on the top bracket 40 of the mounting bracket 30 and connected to the adapter 72. By rotating the turning wheel 97, the gear box 95 generates torque to drive the adapter 72 to open or close the valve 6.

According to above description, the actuator can be an air-pressure cylinder, a spring return handle or a gear box. The valve can be a ball valve, a butterfly valve or a plug valve.

The adjustable mounting bracket has the following advantages:

1. The mounting bracket has maximum flexibilities to interface most of the available actuators, manual gear operators with quarter turn valves in the marketplace by choosing drilling patterns of the top bracket or the bottom bracket or by choosing the required overall mounting bracket height. Therefore, the mounting bracket is very economical and flexible.

2. The positioning holes on the mounting bracket are defined according to the ISO rules so that the positioning holes can snugly combine with male spigots on the actuator and the valve.

3. The adjustable mounting bracket in the present invention is adjustable in height to correspond with different surplus height of the stem when the valves are manufactured by different manufacturers.

4. The adjustable mounting bracket in the present invention is composed of the top bracket and the bottom bracket selectively combined with each other. Therefore, each mounting bracket can be varied by composing different main bodies and different bottom brackets to have various types. Application of the mounting bracket is flexible.

5. The mounting bracket has two open sides to allow easy access of adjustment of the stem packings.

6. The flexibilities and low inventory requirement of the mounting bracket bring the lead time shorter and makes the cost more competitive in comparison with conventional mounting bracket.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present invention of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts any be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. An adjustable mounting bracket between a valve and an actuator, the adjustable mounting bracket comprising: a top bracket having a top plate with two opposite sides; two side plates respective attached to the two opposite sides of the top plate to compose a U-shaped structure; a positioning hole defined in the top plate and adapted to engage a male spigot on the actuator; and multiple locking holes defined around the positioning hole; and a bottom bracket having a base plate with two opposite sides; two side plates respective attached to the two opposite sides of the base plate to compose a U-shaped structure; a positioning hole defined in the base plate and adapted to engage a male spigot on the valve; and multiple locking holes defined around the positioning hole; wherein, a width between the two side plates of the bottom bracket is slightly smaller than a width between the two side plates of the top bracket so that the top bracket clamps the bottom bracket at the side plates.
 2. The adjustable mounting bracket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning hole on the top bracket and the positioning hole on the bottom bracket are manufactured in accordance with rules of International Standard Organization. 